In short
How do you stop web design inquiries from people with tiny budgets?
Set a project minimum, ask for a budget only when the project type needs one, and turn away only budgets far under the minimum. Budgets just under it score lower instead, so you still read them, and the polite no goes only to inquiries you would never take.
On this page
A web studio's contact form lets anyone ask for a quote. Someone with $300 for a full online store and someone with $15,000 arrive looking the same. You find out which is which only after reading, replying, and sometimes a call. (Every amount and question on this page is an example.)
A "projects start at $2,500" notice on the page does not fix this. It is easy to miss, and it cannot sort anyone. Three settings that work together can: a project minimum, a budget question asked only when the project needs one, and a rule that turns away only budgets far under your minimum. Budgets just under it still reach you, ranked lower, so you decide.
What project minimum should you set?
Your project minimum is the smallest job worth your time. Take it from your own past jobs, not from a competitor's price list. If you would not start a website for under $2,500, that is your number.
In Qualiform, the Design or web studio template asks for the smallest job worth your time when you build the form. Your answer goes straight into the questions and the scoring. If you leave it empty, the form still works. A template never turns anybody away on a number you did not give it.
The budget question is scored by comparing the amount with your smallest job. Set Full credit at to your minimum, and the card says what that means in your numbers:
| Setting | Example | What the card says |
|---|---|---|
| Full credit at | 2,500 USD | Full credit at 2,500 USD or more. A smaller amount scores lower, and 1,250 or under scores nothing. |
| How much it counts | Critical | The main thing you judge a lead on. |
So a $2,000 budget still earns some credit. It ranks below a $4,000 inquiry, and it is not turned away.
How do you ask about budget only when it matters?
A new website needs a budget question. Small fixes usually do not. Asking for a website budget confuses someone whose contact page is broken.
In Qualiform, a Pick one question can open questions of its own. Use an answer's Add question to ask a question only of visitors who pick it. Visitors who pick a different answer are never asked it, and it never counts for or against them. This goes one level deep: a question that follows an answer cannot open more questions.
An example:
| Question | Answers people can pick | Grade | Asked next |
|---|---|---|---|
| What do you need help with? | A new website or a redesign | Best fit | What budget do you have in mind? |
| Small fixes to a site I already have | Not a fit, only if you never take small jobs | Nothing | |
| Something else | No grade | Nothing |
An answer with no grade is left out of the score, so "Something else" neither helps nor hurts. If you never take small fixes, check Turn away anyone who picks a Not a fit answer on this question. Anyone who picks that answer scores 0 and is offered no time, whatever else they said.
Set the budget question to Always ask. It is asked until it gets an answer, but only after the answer named above.
How do you turn away only budgets far under your minimum?
Two settings in the budget question's Scoring group decide who is turned away:
| Setting | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Turn a lead away under | Empty | Empty means 625 USD, a quarter of the full-credit amount. Type 0 to turn nobody away. |
| Turn away anyone who earns no credit | Unchecked | Checked, it also turns away anyone at or under 1,250 USD. |
Read the empty box carefully. With a minimum of 2,500, anyone who states a budget under 625 is turned away, even though you never typed a number there. If 625 feels too strict, type your own amount, or type 0.
Leave the second box unchecked if you want only the far-under budgets turned away. Checked, it also turns away the $1,200 inquiry you might have taken.
If you mark the budget question Sensitive, the AI asks it more gently. It also keeps the answer off the "Your answers" list, where visitors can fix mistakes. A budget the AI got wrong then cannot be fixed by the visitor. That is one more reason to keep the turn-away amount low.
A turned-away lead scores 0, gets the priority Not a fit, and has the reason written on it. What the visitor hears depends on the bottom rule on the Routing tab, which is off until you switch it on. Off, the visitor is told you'll be in touch. On, the visitor is told it is not a fit.
For help with the words, see how to reply kindly to inquiries that are not a fit.
When should a small budget not be turned away?
A budget under your minimum is often a first guess. Someone who has not seen your prices may not know what websites cost. Let that inquiry score low and rank low instead of turning it away.
Keep turn-aways for answers no conversation will fix:
- A budget so far under your minimum that no package of yours would fit.
- A kind of work you never take, like small fixes, if that is true for you.
Leave turn-aways off when:
- You are guessing at your minimum. A number that came with a template is an example, not your business.
- Small jobs sometimes grow into big ones for you, like a fix that turns into a redesign.
- You would rather read every inquiry yourself. The score still sorts them, so the best ones are on top.
For more on the budget question itself, read should a contact form ask for budget.
How do you check it before it goes live?
Press Save at the top of the page to keep your changes. Preview only shows what you have saved. Then press Preview and play the visitor yourself. It runs your real questions, scoring, and routing. It saves no lead and sends nothing.
Run three conversations:
- Pick "A new website or a redesign," then say "about $5,000." If you have saved the Booking tab with your hours or a scheduling link, check that you are offered a time.
- Pick the same answer, then say "about $400." Check that it closes politely and offers no time.
- Pick "Small fixes to a site I already have." Check that no budget question appears.
Then open the budget question's card and read the sentence under Scoring. It should show your numbers, not an example's. The guide to qualifying leads from your contact form covers the same idea for any business, and the page for design and web studios shows the full studio template.
Common questions
Will a visitor ever see their score?
No. The AI never mentions a score, a priority, or a reason to the visitor, even when asked. It is only told what to offer, never why.
What happens if someone will not say their budget?
The AI records "I would rather not say" as a refusal and never asks again. A refused or missing budget never turns anyone away. It is left out of the score instead of counting as zero.
Is a turned-away inquiry deleted?
No. The lead is still saved with a score of 0, the priority Not a fit, and the reason written on it, so you can read it later.